Two Ex-Googlers Launched An E-Commerce Startup That Just Reeled In $18 Million

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By Jillian D'Onfro

The Times

By Jillian D'Onfro

Posted Jan. 16, 2014 at 10:04 AM

By Jillian D'Onfro
Posted Jan. 16, 2014 at 10:04 AM

Noah Ready-Campbell and Calvin Young had just made it in the door at Google.

Young was an engineer and Ready-Campbell was an associate product manager, but, within six months of joining the Big G, they quit together to start a company.

They tried a bunch of different ideas, and then they found the one that clicked.

Twice is all about recycling clothes. You can buy second-hand clothing on the site, or you can use Twice as the easiest way to make money while cleaning out your over-crowded closet: They pay the shipping, you get cash-back for items up front.

Twice launched two years ago. Today, Twice announced an $18 million Series B round led by Jeff Jordan of Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from existing Twice investors like IA and Lerer Ventures.

"It was really fast," Ready-Campbell tells Business Insider. "We went from our first meeting with Chris Dixon at the beginning of October, and then we had signed our deal by mid-November."

Ready-Campbell attributes that quick, successful deal partially to the fact that Andresseen Horowitz was attracted by the team's engineering capabilities — which are often lacking at an early-stage e-commerce company. That, and Twice's social mission of helping people recycle clothes instead of throwing them away.

"There's so much waste in this market," Ready-Campbell said, "It was clear that someone could come into this space and make things much more efficient and save people a lot of money, while making money at the same time."